


Hereafter

by turnabouts



Category: Biohazard 2 | Resident Evil 2 (2019), Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse), Resident Evil - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Gore, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Gen, Graphic Description of Corpses, Infant Death, Road Trips, au where umbrella and the zombie shenanigans end with re2, minor cleon later on, no more pain just healing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-30
Updated: 2019-01-30
Packaged: 2019-10-19 07:25:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17596946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/turnabouts/pseuds/turnabouts
Summary: After Leon, Claire, and Sherry manage to get out of the NEST within an inch of their lives, they find themselves hoofing it with no rest in sight.





	Hereafter

“So, uh, what now?”

Leon sat on the side of a decrepit road alongside Claire and Sherry; they’d been flagging down car after car for a ride, hoping for the eventual good Samaritan to scoop them up and bring them to, well, _anywhere_. Anywhere that had a shower at least.

“Wish I could tell you,” Claire sighed. “That cable car went on for a _really_ long time, so I’m just trying to figure out where we are.” She scratched at the back of her head, her hair tie feeling a little too tight. She looked at Sherry, and noticed she was gazing out at the horizon. “You good, kiddo?” Dumb question everything considered, but she had to keep her engaged somehow.

“Yeah!” bubbled Sherry, snapping to life. “It’s just really hot out here…”

“Sure is.” Claire looked over to Leon. “You got a pocket fan in that huge pouch?”

Leon snorted. He loved how joke-y Claire was despite the circumstances. It really took a lot off the tension that all of them had pent up over the events that night at the station and the NEST. It was still unbelievable that any of them had survived, and it took quite a bit of pinching before he realized that he really did make it out of those sewers.

Still, he felt a part of him never left that station. Seeing Marvin turn in real time, being chased after walking corpses (of which a handful were people he’d met), seeing Raccoon City fall to pieces… Granted, he didn’t grow up in the city, but those years at the police academy brought him to a comfortable sense of familiarity with it. It was funny to think that the reason he went there in the first place was because of the Arklay murders. Maybe it made sense that everything that happened in Racoon City happened the way it did, considering how rotten it was in reality.

 _I mean, fuck’s sake, Umbrella_? Leon reflected. He had wondered how a pharmaceutical company had come to manipulate the police force as thoroughly as it did, and not only when but _how_ the NEST was built. Most confusing of all, how did Umbrella manage to operate under the same name it used publicly? Regardless of how accessible the site was, it was borderline idiotic to have confidential correspondence with “UMBRELLA” emblazoned across each piece of data shared. It was the surrealism of the situation that kept Leon thinking that he hadn’t escaped whatever nightmare he thought himself to be in.

“Anyone ever tell you that you look like Leo DiCaprio?” Claire asked, snapping Leon out of the spiral he had thought himself into.

“Uh, no, actually,” Leon answered. “Like from _Titanic_?”

“Yeah. Romeo and Juliet too.”

“Oh, that new one? With Claire Danes? Huh, you look like her too.” Leon did a small double-take. “Wow, shit, you look _just_ like her.”

“No, I don’t,” Claire said sheepishly. “You know who people do say I look like though?”

“Who?” asked Leon.

“Neve Campbell.”

“Sidney from the Scream movies? Are you serious?”

“Yeah.” Claire laughed. “What, you don’t see it?”

“Not at all.”

“I guess we’re both in denial!”

Both Claire and Leon laughed a hearty laugh, the first time for both of them since the previous night. Even Sherry joined in, regardless of whether she understood what they were laughing at or not.

Had they kept laughing, they wouldn’t have noticed the seemingly empty 1993 Nissan Altima barreling down the empty road, slowing steadily with time.

“Do you think –?” Claire looked at Leon.

“Yeah. Grab Sherry and walk with me at a distance.” Leon unholstered Matilda as he began a jog to the now-halted car, hoping to God that the last time he had to use it would be back at the NEST. The car was a bright white with no signs of damage, and if there was any, it was superficial. He would have to see the front of the car before making any solid assumptions, however.

After a few minutes of jogging, Leon instructed Claire to idle, keeping her Quickdraw Army at the ready. He circled counter-clockwise to the car, revealing that there was no one in the back seats or the passenger seat. No one in the driver’s seat either, yet the door was ajar. The driver likely got out of (or was forced out of) the car while it was still in motion. Still…

That left the trunk.

Leon raised his hand to Claire, motioning for her to remain idle. He came around to the trunk slowly, keeping his hand on the car to feel for any movement from within. When he felt nothing, he took out a combat knife and began to try and force the lock open… with no luck.

“Do you know to pick a lock?” Leon asked Claire.

“Yeah, but not with a knife.” Claire searched her pockets for anything that could work, with the closest thing being a spare key left from her time in the sewers. “I got nothing.”

“Can I try?” asked Sherry.

Both Leon and Claire looked at Sherry, then at each other. Leon rubbed the back of his neck.

“Alright, but you need to run from the trunk as soon as you hear the click. Okay?” Leon holstered Matilda, swapping it with his W-870. He placed a hand firmly on the lid of the trunk.

Sherry nodded. She removed a hairpin from her head, making quick work of the trunk lock. Within a few seconds the click sounded, causing her to sprint from the trunk as soon as possible as per Leon’s instruction. Leon thought briefly about why Sherry managed to pick the lock so quickly, but that thought was lost in his anxiety towards what was in the trunk.

He took a deep, cautious breath. He looked to Claire, her Quickdraw Army still in hand. With a nod, Leon threw the trunk lid open, at the same time taking several steps back with his finger on the trigger.

Nothing happened.

He neared the trunk with measured steps, ready for a zombie to sit up, a licker to jump out, anything. He loomed over the trunk, inspecting its contents.

“Oh my God.” Leon ran over to the side of the road, throwing his W-870 to the ground and placing his hands on his knees while he heaved.

“What…” Claire’s voice faltered. What could have made Leon retch after dealing with mutilated corpses the whole night? She placed a hand on Sherry’s shoulder, then moved to the trunk herself.

Inside was what seemed to be an infant, already having been infected with the G-virus, its head completely missing.

“Fuck.” Claire felt her stomach begin to turn as well.

“What is it?” questioned Sherry. She was afraid to see for herself, seeing as how both Leon and Claire were visibly sick.

“Nothing you need to see.” Leon wiped his mouth with his shirt sleeve. “Sherry, get in the back. Claire, take shotgun. I’ll take care of this.” He retrieved the W-870 and began to remove a pair of gloves from a box that he had taken from the evidence room at the station.

“Could you let me drive?” pleaded Claire. “You’ve done a lot for us as is, plus you need to get some rest. That arm isn’t going to get better if you keep forcing yourself like this.”

After some coaxing from Claire, Leon caved. He removed his uniform shirt, wrapping the corpse in it. He placed it gently on the side of the road and did a silent prayer both for the infant and for all others that were caught in the crossfire. He stood in a daze and remained so for quite some time before Claire called out to him.

He walked to the driver’s seat door, making a gesture towards Claire through the window as if to say “come on”. She shook her head slowly with a gentle smile, then motioned to the passenger seat with her head. Leon sighed, then circled around to the seat and got in, slouching immediately.

“The tank’s three quarters full. Pretty sure we can find a gas station along the way if we really need one.” Claire placed a hand on Leon’s shoulder. “We’re gonna be fine. _You’re_ gonna be fine.”

“I know I am. That’s what upsets me. All those dead kids and families that didn’t have a choice in the matter aren’t going to be fine.” Leon’s breath was shaky. “I told this woman that I met at the station that I joined the force to protect people like this, and I’ve never felt more useless in my life. I honestly feel nothing but guilt leaving the city like that. Like I don’t deserve it.”

Leon rubbed his hands over his face and through his hair, realizing too late that he hadn’t removed his gloves after disposing of the infant’s corpse.

“FUCK!” Leon yelled. He got out of the car, removing the gloves and throwing them away from the car. He paced with both hands on the back of his neck, breathing heavily.

Claire could do nothing but sit and watch. She had just met the guy last night but could already tell that he had a heart of gold. No one worth their salt would feel _guilty_ for making it out of something like the outbreak. She wished there was something she could tell him that wouldn’t sound like a platitude.

A few minutes passed before Leon got back in the car. When he did, his eyes were a bright pink and his hair was more disheveled than it had been during the entire ordeal at the station. Despite that, his voice had returned to its normal chipper state.

“So, what now?” inquired Leon.

“Well,” answered Claire, “the last time you said that, it got us a car. Let’s hope that this time it’s food, water, and a place to crash.”

The engine stalled for a couple of seconds, then roared to life. The frame of the car rattled quite a bit, as if it were going to fall apart with the slightest impact.

Leon brought the windows down, not wanting to waste any precious gas on powering the air conditioning. He asked Sherry if he could lean his seat back, to which she happily conceded. She took off Claire’s jacket and used it as a pillow, laying down over the back two seats.

Claire looked over the two, smiling gently. Seeing them conk out so quickly tempted her to do it herself, but the longer they spent dawdling, the closer they came to starvation.

With a deep breath, Claire put the car in gear and drove into the setting sun.

**Author's Note:**

> been sitting on this idea since i saw the true ending after clearing claire B and wanted that dynamic between the three to like.... go on forever? so say goodbye to nemesis, las plagas, and everything else because everyone's getting the rest they deserve (also i have no clue when this is gonna update again so bear with me)


End file.
